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2002 World Series
The World Series was the 98th edition of the Fall Classic, held from October 19-27, 2002. The series featured the American League champion Anaheim Angels defeating the National League champion San Francisco Giants, 4–3, to win the franchise's first ever World Series. The series was notable as being the first (and as of 2008 only) time since the inception of the wild card in Major League Baseball that two wild card teams would vie for the title. It was also the fourth World Series played between two teams from California (after 1974, 1988, and 1989). Background Adding to the drama was the fact that both teams and their fans came into the series carrying the baggage of a long history of futility, frustration and disappointment in their quest to capture the elusive world championship. The Angels, a Major League club since , had never before played in the World Series. They had come close several times, including heartbreaking losses in the ALCS in 1982 to the Milwaukee Brewers and in 1986 to the Boston Red Sox. In both series, the Angels blew leads and lost the last 3 games to lose the series. The Giants had won their last World Series crown in 1954, when they were still the New York Giants. Since moving to San Francisco after the season, the Giants had made it to the series twice but lost both times. These included a dramatic, down-to-the-wire loss to the New York Yankees in the seven-game classic 1962 World Series, and a four-game sweep by the Oakland Athletics in the earthquake-marred 1989 World Series. In addition, they finished 2nd in the National League several times. The Angels won the seven-game 2002 series after staging a remarkable come-from-behind victory in Game 6. The Giants had won Game 4 on an eighth inning RBI single that was ruled unearned and took Game 5 in a 16–4 blowout. Going into Game 6, the Giants held a 3–2 series lead and seemed well on their way to winning the club's first world championship in 48 years and the first for their West Coast fans. The Giants continued their mastery into the late innings of Game 6, entering the bottom of the seventh inning with a commanding 5–0 lead. Only eight outs away from elimination, however, the Angels suddenly came to life and rallied for three runs in that inning. The Angels added three more in the eighth, to win the game 6–5 and force a seventh and deciding game. Having stolen the thunder from the stunned Giants, the Angels cruised to an easy 4-1 victory in the final game to reward their fans with the franchise's first world championship. The series was played as a best-of-seven playoff with a 2-3-2 site format (standard in Major League Baseball). Summary AL Anaheim Angels (4) vs NL San Francisco Giants (3) Matchups Game 1 Saturday, October 19, 2002 at Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim, California San Francisco won 4-3 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim) to take a 1-0 lead. Barry Bonds hit a home run in his first career World Series at-bat. He was one of three Giants to homer in the game (the other two were Reggie Sanders and JT Snow). Troy Glaus hit 2 home runs for the Angels. Game 2 Sunday, October 20, 2002 at Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim, California Anaheim won 11-10 at home in a game where the lead kept fluctuating between the two teams, tying up the series. Bonds again hit a mammoth homer with 2 outs in the 9th inning, off of Troy Percival. The biggest home run of the night, however, was hit by Tim Salmon, a longtime Angel, with 2 outs and one on in the bottom of the 8th. The dramatic blast won the game for the Angels. Game 3 Tuesday, October 22, 2002 at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, California Anaheim won 10-4 in the first World Series game at Pacific Bell Park (now AT&T Park). The Angels batted around twice without a home run in either of their 4-run innings. Barry Bonds hit another home run, becoming the first man to homer in his first 3 World Series games. Game 4 Wednesday, October 23, 2002 at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, California San Francisco scored a 4-3 victory to tie the series. NLCS MVP Benito Santiago tied the game with a single in the 5th inning after the Angels walked Barry Bonds with a runner on second and two outs. David Bell put the Giants ahead with an RBI single in the bottom of the 8th. The run was unearned due to Anaheim catcher Bengie Molina's passed ball during the previous at-bat, allowing J.T. Snow to move to second. Game 5 Thursday, October 24, 2002 at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, California San Francisco took a 16-4 blowout win in a game in which the Angels never led. The most well-known moment in this game occurred when Giants first baseman J.T. Snow scored off a Kenny Lofton triple. 3-year-old batboy Darren Baker, son of Giants manager Dusty Baker, ran to home plate to collect Lofton's bat before the play was completed and was quickly lifted by the jacket by Snow as he crossed the plate, with David Bell close on his heels. Had Snow not acted quickly, Darren could have been seriously injured. Game 6 Saturday, October 26, 2002 at Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim, California The turning point in the series came in Game 6. Leading 5–0 with one out in the bottom of the 7th inning, 8 outs away from the Giants' first World Series title in San Francisco, Giants manager Dusty Baker pulled starting pitcher Russ Ortiz for setup man Félix Rodríguez after Ortiz gave up consecutive singles to third baseman Troy Glaus and designated hitter Brad Fullmer. In a widely publicized move, Baker gave Ortiz the game ball as he sent him back to the dugout. During the pitching change the Rally Monkey came on the JumboTron, sending 45,037 Angels fans into a frenzy. Angel first baseman Scott Spiezio came to the plate and fouled off pitch after pitch before finally hitting a 3-run home run that barely cleared the wall in right field. The rally continued in the 8th inning, as Angel center fielder Darin Erstad hit a leadoff line-drive home run, followed by consecutive singles by Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson. (Chone Figgins pinch ran for Salmon.) When Bonds misplayed Anderson's shallow left field bloop single, Figgins and Anderson took third and second respectively. With no outs, two runners in scoring position and now only a 5–4 lead, Baker brought in closer Robb Nen to pitch to Glaus, hoping that Nen could induce a strikeout that might yet preserve the Giants' slim lead. However, Glaus slugged a double to the left-center field gap over Bonds' head to drive in the tying and winning runs. In the 9th inning, Angels closer Troy Percival struck out Rich Aurilia to preserve the 6-5 victory in front of the jubilant home crowd. The comeback from a 5-run deficit was the largest in World Series history for an elimination game. Game 7 Sunday, October 27, 2002 at Edison International Field of Anaheim in Anaheim, California Game 7 proved to be somewhat anticlimactic after the drama of Game 6. The Giants scored the first run on a sacrifice, but the Angels responded with a run-scoring double from catcher Bengie Molina and a 3-run double to right field from left fielder Garret Anderson to open a 4-1 lead. Rookie starting pitcher John Lackey maintained that lead. In the 9th inning, closer Troy Percival provided some tense moments as he opened the inning by putting two Giants on base, with only one out. But Tsuyoshi Shinjo – the first Japanese player in a World Series game - struck out swinging, and Kenny Lofton, also representing the tying run, flied out to Darin Erstad in right-center field to end the Series. The Angels won Game 7, 4-1, to claim their franchise's first and so far only World Series Championship. John Lackey became the first rookie pitcher to win a World Series game 7 since 1909. The morning after the win, The Orange County Register celebrated the Angels' win with the headline "7th Heaven," referring to the Angels' name and fact that it took seven games for the Angels to win the World Series, and in doing so, it sent them to seventh heaven . Composite Box 2002 World Series (4-3): Anaheim Angels (A.L.) over San Francisco Giants (N.L.) |}} Series quotes Trivia *San Francisco Giants' center fielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo became the first Japanese-born player to play in a World Series. *The Angels lost the first game in all three rounds of the playoffs (Division Series, League Championship Series, and World Series), yet rebounded to win each time. They were the first team to do this since the new postseason format was created in 1994. *The Angels came back from five runs down to win Game 6, the largest deficit ever overcome by a team facing elimination. *Giants public address announcer Renel Brooks-Moon is recognized by the Baseball Hall of Fame as the first female announcer of a championship game in any professional sport for her role in the 2002 World Series. Her scorecard from Game 3 is on display in the Hall at Cooperstown. *The Giants clubhouse had already been covered in plastic sheets and champagne had been put in the clubhouse immediately prior to the Angels' comeback in the 7th inning of Game 6. *The Angels were the first American League Wild Card winner to win the World Series. *Mike Scioscia and Dusty Baker played together on the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was the first World Series to feature opposing managers who had been teammates on a World Championship team as players. *Giants play-by-play announcer Jon Miller called the World Series on ESPN Radio. *Major League Baseball instituted a mandatory minimum age of bat boys because in Game 5, three year old Darren Baker, (Dusty Baker's son) who was the bat boy for the Giants, almost got into a collision at home plate while trying to retrieve a bat. Luckily, as J.T. Snow was crossing the plate, he grabbed Darren and took him back to the dugout. After that game, Dusty Baker received a phone call from his mother, who wanted explanations why Darren was on the field during a near home plate collision. *The previous time two teams from the same state met in the Fall Classic was 2000, when the New York Yankees played the New York Mets. *This was Giants' outfielder Reggie Sanders' second consecutive World Series appearance with different teams - in 2001 he got there with the Arizona Diamondbacks. This was the first time this happened since Don Baylor did it in three consecutive years with the Boston Red Sox in 1986, the Minnesota Twins in 1987, and with the Oakland Athletics in 1988. * Dusty Baker became the first black manager to participate in a World Series since Cito Gaston for Toronto in 1992 and 1993. * This World Series ended a 14-year championship drought for the Los Angeles area; the last World Series win prior to this was in 1988 by the Los Angeles Dodgers. * This World Series was nicknamed "The World Series that almost didn't happen" by ESPN writer Karl Ravech because of the near strike in August of that year. * This was the first World Series to be telecast in high-definition. * In Game 7, three rookie pitchers (John Lackey, Brendan Donnelly, and Francisco Rodriguez) threw eight innings of one-run ball. * As of 2008, this was the last World Series to alternate home-field advantage between the American League and National League. * Angels pitcher Brendan Donnelly was the third replacement player to win the World Series, behind both Shane Spencer of the 1998-2000 New York Yankees and Damian Miller of the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks. * This world series was the only one of the most recent ten to have been won by the team that lost Game 1. * This is the most recent World Series to be decided in 7 games. Notes References * * External links * The World Series from Baseball Almanac * Official Site of the World Series * Detailed Coverage of Game 6, including video * Detailed Coverage of Game 7 Category:World Series World Series Category:Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Category:San Francisco Giants